It seems as if the evolution of the medical and educational systems have paralled each other over the years. For example:
Remember Miss Beadle and Doc Baker on Little House and the Prairie? Loved that show!
...And now:
One person, doing it all, has turned into many people doing specific things and although the educational evolution seems to have been beneficial for students over the years, some aren’t sure if that’s been the case for medicine.
Some believe it may have caused:
•An increase in healthcare costs.
•Patients to become over-prescribed and over-diagnosed.
•Dissension within the medical community, causing a slowdown in medical breakthroughs and the progression of better patient treatment protocols. (In fighting arrogance – my specialty is better than yours)
Many states within the U.S. are becoming more and more sensitive to these on-going problems and are working towards implementing an integrative healthcare approach, for both cost effectiveness and better healthcare to patients.
The second illustration above is a perfect example of how today’s professionals have mastered a skill, but yet are unfortunately stuck within the guidelines enforced by their respective administrations. In other words, they are frowned upon practicing/teaching outside the scope of their classification.
Ahhh… and what I love about life is….There are always exception to every rule, take a look:
A Math teacher primarily teaches Math, if he/she spends a significant amount of time teaching English they could lose their job. If a cardiologist spends all day treating fallen arches in patient’s feet, he/she could possibly lose their license.
But the Social Studies teacher, as well as the Integrative healthcare professional have more of a broad specialty, which allows them to offer a myriad of services.
I’m using this education/medical parallel to help illustrate to thyroid patients who may be going to a specialist (endocrinologist) and feel you aren’t getting the best care. I know some of you are afraid to go elsewhere because you were told that your thyroid condition can only be treated by someone who specializes in endocrinology. This is not always the case, as other professionals can treat a thyroid disorder. It is possible for a human being to be incredibly skilled and knowledgeable in multiple taxonomies.
So, the moral of the story is… go to a Social Studies teacher for your thyroid care.
NEXT WEEK I will talk more about what is an Integrative Healthcare professional.
Also
Mary Shoman wrote an excellent article on this subject and I would like to do a follow-up, giving you a little more insight as to why it isn’t always necessary to go an Endo, as I am an insider who works administratively in the medical environment. The inadequate care you may be receiving from your Endo isn’t just about the ignorance of thyroid care, there is more going on…
Plus there might me some more super cool illustrations…Stay tuned
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Hello Carol, so good to meet you through your blog. Your posts are excellent and so true, we thyroid patients have to be creative in seeking help, don't we? After all, it's 'just' a little thyroid problem, I mean, c'mon, just take a pill and you'll be fine.
ReplyDeleteI was diagnosed with hypothyroidism twenty-two years ago by a psychiatrist at a crisis center. How did a former farm girl who prided herself on pulling herself up by her bootstraps end up at a crisis center? Well........it's a long story and one I wrote about on my blog http://krensgarden-karen.blogspot.com/2013/08/here-we-go-again.html
Judy Kirby's story saddens me; I can completely understand how this horrible tragedy happened. I was so ill by the time I was diagnosed that her story could have easily been mine.
After almost 23 years on Synthroid and umpteen doctors, I've finally made the switch to NDT in July. I was so happy to finally be given Armour and felt optimistic, but life is throwing me yet another curve ball. I'm having troubles with dosage and haven't been feeling well at all. The starting dose was too low and I plunged back into hypo again followed by an increase in dosage which sent me hyper. Fun, fun!
I have an appointment scheduled with a nurse practitioner/integrative healthcare professional who specializes in saliva testing and hormone therapy (and also is a thyroid patient) in a few weeks, but it sure is a long time to wait when you're miserable. I'm trying not to get my hopes too high, but maybe, just maybe, this will help.
Thank you for writing your blog and your books. You've given me a reason to smile today and hope for the future.